Dining Out: Do You Suffer from Ordering Anxiety?

Eating out is supposed to be an exciting, pleasant and indulgent experience but for many Brits it fills them with dread and anxiety.

Women suffer the most, with 35 per cent of them admitting that they won’t order what they really want in fear of being judged on their choice.

Not only this but 19 per cent of Brits will choose to dine alone so they can escape the judgement about how much they eat.

Londoners are most likely to eat alone, followed by those from Birmingham and diners in Cardiff coming in third place.

Not only will Brits order something completely different from what they actually want but they will also spend 10 minutes flapping about what to choose.

Nearly 50 per cent of diners with wait to see what their friends and family are ordering before making their final choice.

My Ly, Senior Marketing Manager at YO! Sushi, who commissioned the research, said, “What we find interesting in our restaurants is that our trademark ‘Kaiten’ conveyor belt, where customers can instantly pick and eat, tends to make people feel freer and breaks up order anxiety, this allows single diners in particular to feel less awkward when eating by themselves compared to a more traditional restaurant experience.”

As if waiting for everyone else to order wasn’t bad enough, 74 per cent of Brits admitted that they will often mimic what their fellow diners are ordering.

Brits said this would include getting a soft drink instead of a glass of wine at lunch as well as opting for a healthy salad rather than a naughty treat for fear of being the odd one out.

Maybe unsurprisingly, men are easier to please and flap a lot less than women when it comes to ordering as YO! Sushi found they’re more likely to go along with the rest of the crowd instead of flap.

Do you suffer from bouts of ordering anxiety? Let us know by commenting below or tweeting us @FemaleFirst_UK